^3 (F)A voice ^[c]is calling,
“^(G)Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
⁴ Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
^5 [d]Then the ^(H)glory of Yahweh will be revealed,
And ^(I)all flesh will see it together;
For the ^(J)mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”
⁶ A voice says, “Call out.”
Then ^[e]he answered, “What shall I call out?”
^(K)All flesh is grass, and all its lovingkindness is like the flower of the field.
⁷ The ^(L)grass ^[f]withers, the flower fades,
^[g]When the ^(M)breath of Yahweh blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass ^[h]withers, the flower fades,
But ^(N)the word of our God stands forever.

⁹ Get yourself up on a ^(O)high mountain,
O Zion, bearer of ^(P)good news,
Raise up your voice powerfully,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Raise it up, do not fear.
Say to the ^(Q)cities of Judah,
“^(R)Behold your God!”
¹⁰ Behold, Lord Yahweh will come ^(S)with strength,
With His ^(T)arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His ^(U)reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
¹¹ Like a shepherd He will ^(V)shepherd His flock;
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

¹² Who has ^(W)measured the ^[i]waters in the hollow of His hand,
And ^[j]encompassed the heavens by the ^[k]span,
And ^[l]calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?
^13 (X)Who has ^[m]encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh,
Or as His ^(Y)counselor has informed Him?
^14 (Z)With whom did He take counsel and who ^(AA)gave Him understanding?
And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge
And made Him know the way of understanding?
¹⁵ Behold, the ^(AB)nations are like a drop from a bucket,
And are counted as a speck of ^(AC)dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust.
¹⁶ Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its ^(AD)beasts enough for a burnt offering.
^17 (AE)All the nations are as nothing before Him;
They are counted by Him as non-existent and utterly formless.

^18 (AF)To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare with Him?
¹⁹ As for the ^(AG)graven images, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith ^(AH)plates it with gold,
And a silversmith fashions chains of silver.
²⁰ He who is too impoverished to make such a contribution
Chooses a ^(AI)tree that does not rot;
He seeks out for himself a wise craftsman
To ^[n]prepare a graven image that ^(AJ)will not be shaken.

^21 (AK)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood ^(AL)from the foundations of the earth?
²² It is He who ^[o]inhabits above the ^[p](AM)circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like ^(AN)grasshoppers;
It is He who ^(AO)stretches out the heavens like a ^(AP)curtain
And spreads them out like a ^(AQ)tent to inhabit.
²³ It is He who reduces ^(AR)rulers to nothing,
Who ^(AS)makes the ^[q]judges of the earth utterly formless.
^24 [r]Scarcely have they been planted;
^[s]Scarcely have they been sown;
^[t]Scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they ^[u]wither,
And the ^(AT)storm carries them away like stubble.
²⁵ “^(AU)To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
^26 (AV)Lift up your eyes on high
And see ^(AW)who has created these stars,
The ^(AX)One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the ^(AY)greatness of His vigor and the ^[v]strength of His power,
^(AZ)Not one of them is missing.

^27 (BA)Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is ^(BB)hidden from Yahweh,
And the ^(BC)justice due me passes by ^(BD)my God”?
^28 (BE)Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The ^(BF)Everlasting God, Yahweh, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is ^(BG)unsearchable.
²⁹ He gives power to the ^(BH)weary,
And to him who lacks vigor He ^(BI)increases might.
³⁰ Though ^(BJ)youths grow weary and tired,
And choice ^(BK)young men stumble badly,
³¹ Yet those who hope in Yahweh
Will ^(BL)gain new power;
They will ^[w](BM)mount up with ^[x]wings like eagles;
They will run and not get tired;
They will walk and not become weary.